Protein isolation

ABSTRACT

A fusion protein containing a polyhedrin of a virus and a foreign polypeptide sequence. Also disclosed are a recombinant occlusion body containing the fusion protein, an isolated nucleic acid containing a sequence encoding the fusion protein, and a recombinant virus containing the nucleic acid. Within the scope of this invention are related expression vectors, host cells, compositions, and preparation methods.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/921,741, filed on Aug. 19, 2004, (issued Oct. 16, 2007, as U.S. Pat. No. 7,282,353), which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/496,161, filed on Aug. 19, 2003, the contents of both prior applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Baculoviruses are a group of rod-shaped, enveloped, double-stranded DNA viruses having a circular, supercoiled genome varying from 90 to 160 kb in size. They have been successfully used for efficient expression of engineered proteins. A baculovirus system is more attractive than other protein expression systems because of its high level expression, posttranslational modification ability, and safety for use in humans (Smith et al., 1983, Mol. Cell. Biol. 3, 2156-2165).

However, the yield of engineered protein prepared from a baculovirus system is not satisfactory. First, the peak time for engineered protein production varies from 2 to 6 days post infection (dpi) (Chatterji et al., 1996, Gene 171, 209-213; Liebman et al., 1999, Biotechniques 26, 36-42; and Pennock et al., 1984, Mol. Cell. Biol. 4, 399-406). These variations may result from the concentrations of viruses applied, host cell numbers, virus infection conditions, and promoters used. As a baculovirus system is a lytic system, engineered proteins often leak upon maturation of viral progenies, leading to loss of the proteins. Although the maturation times of the progeny viruses are similar, secondary infection complicates the peak time. This is especially evident when lower multiplicity of infection (MOI) is used. Accordingly, protein yield is not satisfactory. Second, conventional protein recovery methods also entail loss of engineered proteins. Numerous techniques have been developed to improve the yield of engineered protein (Kennedy, 1990; Garcia & Pires, 1993, and Terpe, 2003). Nonetheless, they are either expensive or labor consuming.

Thus, there is a need for a baculovirus expression system and method for efficient protein isolation.

SUMMARY

This invention is based, at least in part, on the discovery that fusion proteins containing viral polyhedrin form occlusion bodies in a host cell and that the fusion proteins can be easily isolated from the host cell. Listed below are polyhedrin sequences of baculovirus and cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV):

Baculovirus polyhedrin (SEQ ID NO: 1): MPDYSYRPTIGRTYVYDNKYYKNLGAVIKNAKRKKHFAEHEIEEATLDPL DNYLVAEDPFLGPGKNQKLTLFKEIRNVKPDTMKLVVGWKGKEFYRETWT RFMEDSFPIVNDQEVMDVFLVVNMRPTRPNRCYKFLAQHALRCDPDYVPH DVIRIVEPSWVGSNNEYRISLAKKGGGCPIMNLHSEYTNSFEQFIDRVIW ENFYKPIVYIGTDSAEEEEILLEVSLVFKVKEFAPDAPLFTGPAY CPV polyhedrin (SEQ ID NO: 2): MADVAGTSNRDFRGREQRLFNSEQYNYNNSLNGEVSVWVYAYYSDGSVLV INKNSQYKVGISETFKALKEYREGQHNDSYDEYEVNQSIYYPNGGDARKF HSNAKPRAIQIIFSPSVNVRTIKMAKGNAVSVPDEYLQRSHPWEATGIKY RKIKRDGEIVGYSHYFELPHEYNSISLAVSGVHKNPSSYNVGSAHNVMDV FQSCDLALRFCNRYWAELELVNHYISPNAYPYLDINNHSYGVALSNRQ

One aspect of this invention features a fusion protein that contains (i) a polyhedrin sequence of a virus or its functional equivalent that is at least 70, e.g., 80, 100, 150, or 200, amino acids in length, and (ii) a foreign polypeptide sequence that is at least 10 amino acids in length. A plurality of the fusion proteins, in the absence of a wild type polyhedrin of the virus, form occlusion bodies in a host cell. The virus can be a baculovirus or a CPV. In one embodiment, the viral polyhedrin sequence contains SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2. In the fusion protein, the foreign polypeptide sequence can be 10-1,000, e.g., 100-500, amino acids in length. It can be any protein sequence of interest, such as a fluorescent proteins protein (GFP) or VP1 capsid protein of the foot and mouth disease virus. Listed below are their sequences:

GFP (SEQ ID NO: 5): MVSKQILKNTGLQEIMSFKVNLEGVVNNHVFTMEGCGKGNILFGNQLVQI RVTKGAPLPFAFDILSPAFQYGNRTFTKYPEDISDFFIQSFPAGFVYERT LRYEDGGLVEIRSDINLIEEMFVYRVEYKGRNFPNDGPVMKKTITGLQPS FEVVYMNDGVLVGQVILVYRLNSGKFYSCHMRTLMKSKGVVKDFPEYHFI QHRLEKTYVEDGGFVEQHETAIAQLTSLGKPLGSLHEWV VP1 protein (SEQ ID NO: 7): TTSAGESADPVTATVENYGGETQVQRRQDTDIAFILDRFVKVKPKEQVNV LDLMQIPAHTLVGALLRTATYYFSDLELAVKHEGDLTWVPNGAPETALDN TTNPTAYHKEPLTRLALPYTAPHRVLATVYNGSSKYGDTSTNNVRGDLQV LAQKAERTLPTSFNFGAIKATRVTELLYRMKRAETYCPRPLLAIQPSDAR HKQRIVAPAKQLL

The invention also features an isolated nucleic acid containing a sequence that encodes the above-mentioned fusion protein. The nucleic acid can contain those encoding the above-mentioned baculovirus polyhedrin, CPV polyhedrin, GFP, or VP1 (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3, 4, 6, or 8, listed below)

SEQ ID NO: 3: ATGCCGGATTATTCATACCGTCCCACCATCGGGCGTACCTACGTGTACGA CAACAAGTACTACAAAAATTTAGGTGCCGTTATCAAGAACGCTAAGCGCA AGAAGCACTTCGCCGAACATGAGATCGAAGAGGCTACCCTCGACCCCCTA GACAACTACCTAGTGGCTGAGGATCCTTTCCTGGGACCCGGCAAGAACCA AAAACTCACTCTCTTCAAGGAAATCCGTAATGTTAAACCCGACACGATGA AGCTTGTCGTTGGATGGAAAGGAAAAGAGTTCTACAGGGAAACTTGGACC CGCTTCATGGAAGACAGCTTCCCCATTGTTAACGACCAAGAAGTGATGGA TGTTTTCCTTGTTGTCAACATGCGTCCCACTAGACCCAACCGTTGTTACA AATTCCTGGCCCAACACGCTCTGCGTTGCGACCCCGACTATGTACCTCAT GACGTGATTAGGATCGTCGAGCCTTCATGGGTGGGCAGCAACAACGAGTA CCGCATCAGCCTGGCTAAGAAGGGCGGCGGCTGCCCAATAATGAACCTTC ACTCTGAGTACACCAACTCGTTCGAACAGTTCATCGATCGTGTCATCTGG GAGAACTTCTACAAGCCCATCGTTTACATCGGTACCGACTCTGCTGAAGA GGAGGAAATTCTCCTTGAAGTTTCCCTGGTGTTCAAAGTAAAGGAGTTTG CACCAGACGCACCTCTGTTCACTGGTCCGGCGTATTAA SEQ ID NO: 4: ATGGCAGACGTAGCAGGAACAAGTAACCGAGACTTTCGCGGACGCGAACA AAGACTATTCAATAGCGAACAATACAACTATAACAACAGCTTGAACGGAG AAGTGAGCGTGTGGGTATACGCATACTACTCAGACGGGTCTGTACTCGTA ATCAACAAGAACTCGCAATACAAGGTTGGCATTTCAGAGACATTCAAGGC ACTTAAGGAATATCGCGAGGGACAACACAACGACTCTTACGATGAGTATG AAGTGAATCAGAGCATCTACTATCCTAACGGCGGTGACGCTCGCAAATTC CATTCAAATGCTAAACCACGCGCGATCCAGATCATCTTCAGTCCTAGTGT GAATGTGCGTACTATCAAGATGGCTAAAGGCAACGCGGTATCCGTGCCCG ATGAGTACCTACAGCGATCTCACCCATGGGAAGCGACCGGAATCAAGTAC CGCAAGATTAAGAGAGACGGGGAAATCGTTGGTTACAGCCATTACTTTGA ACTACCCCATGAATACAACTCCATCTCCCTAGCGGTAAGTGGTGTACATA AGAACCCATCATCATACAATGTCGGATCAGCACATAACGTAATGGACGTC TTCCAATCATGCGACTTGGCTCTCAGATTCTGCAACCGCTACTGGGCCGA ACTCGAATTGGTGAACCACTACATTTCGCCGAACGCCTACCCATACCTCG ATATTAACAATCATAGCTATGGAGTAGCTCTGAGTAACCGTCAGTGA SEQ ID NO: 6: ATGGTGAGCAAGCAGATCCTGAAGAACACCGGCCTGCAGGAGATCATGAG CTTCAAGGTGAACCTGGAGGGCGTGGTGAACAACCACGTGTTCACCATGG AGGGCTGCGGCAAGGGCAACATCCTGTTCGGCAACCAGTTGGTGCAGATC CGCGTGACCAAGGGCGCCCCCCTGCCCTTCGCCTTCGACATCCTGAGCCC CGCCTTCCAGTACGGCAACCGCACCTTCACCAAGTACCCCGAGGACATCA GCGACTTCTTCATCCAGAGCTTCCCCGCCGGCTTCGTGTACGAGCGCACC CTGCGCTACGAGGACGGCGGCCTGGTGGAGATCCGCAGCGACATCAACCT GATCGAGGAGATGTTCGTGTACCGCGTGGAGTACAAGGGCCGCAACTTCC CCAACGACGGCCCCGTGATGAAGAAGACCATCACCGGCCTGCAGCCCAGC TTCGAGGTGGTGTACATGAACGACGGCGTGCTGGTGGGCCAGGTGATCCT GGTGTACCGCCTGAACAGCGGCAAGTTCTACAGCTGCCACATGCGCACCC TGATGAAGAGCAAGGGCGTGGTGAAGGACTTCCCCGAGTACCACTTCATC CAGCACCGCCTGGAGAAGACCTACGTGGAGGACGGCGGCTTCGTGGAGCA GCACGAGACCGCCATCGCCCAGCTGACCAGCCTGGGCAAGCCCCTGGGCA GCCTGCACGAGRTGGGTGTAA SEQ ID NO: 8: ACCACCTCTGCGGGTGAGTCTGCGGACCCCGTGACTGCCACCGTCGAGAA CTACGGTGGTGAGACACAAGTCCAGAGGCGCCAGCACACGGACATTGCGT TCATATTGGACAGGTTCGTGAAAGTCAAGCCAAAGGAACAAGTTAATGTG TTGGACCTGATGCAGATCCCTGCCCACACCTTGGTAGGGGCGCTCCTGCG AACGGGCACCTACTACTTGTCTGACCTGGAGCTGGCCGTCAAGCACGAAG GCGATCTCACCTGGGTCCCAAACGGCGCCCCTGAGACAGCACTGGACAAC ACTACCAACCCAACAGCTTACCACAAGGAACCCCTCACACGGCTGGCGCT GCCTTACACGGCTCCACACCGTGTCTTAGCGACCGTCTACAACGGGAGCA GTAAGTACGGTGACACCAGCACTAACAACGTGAGAGGTGACCTTCAAGTG TTAGCTCAGAAGGCAGAAAGAACTCTGCCTACCTCCTTCAACTTCGGTGC CATCAAGGCAACTCGTGTTACTGAACTACTCTACAGAATGAAGAGAGCCG AGACATACTGTCCCAGGCCCCTTCTCGCCATTCAACCGAGTGACGCTAGA CACAAGCAGAGGATTGTGGCACCCGCAAAACAG

A nucleic acid refers to a DNA molecule (e.g., a cDNA or genomic DNA), an RNA molecule (e.g., an mRNA), or a DNA or RNA analog. A DNA or RNA analog can be synthesized from nucleotide analogs. The nucleic acid molecule can be single-stranded or double-stranded, but preferably is double-stranded DNA. An “isolated nucleic acid” is a nucleic acid the structure of which is not identical to that of any naturally occurring nucleic acid or to that of any fragment of a naturally occurring genomic nucleic acid. The term therefore covers, for example, (a) a DNA which has the sequence of part of a naturally occurring genomic DNA molecule but is not flanked by both of the coding sequences that flank that part of the molecule in the genome of the organism in which it naturally occurs; (b) a nucleic acid incorporated into a vector or into the genomic DNA of a prokaryote or eukaryote in a manner such that the resulting molecule is not identical to any naturally occurring vector or genomic DNA; (c) a separate molecule such as a cDNA, a genomic fragment, a fragment produced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or a restriction fragment; and (d) a recombinant nucleotide sequence that is part of a hybrid gene, i.e., a gene encoding a fusion protein. Specifically excluded from this definition are nucleic acids present in mixtures of different (i) DNA molecules, (ii) transfected cells, or (iii) cell clones, e.g., as these occur in a DNA library such as a cDNA or genomic DNA library. The nucleic acid described above can be used to express a fusion protein of this invention. For this purpose, one can operatively link the nucleic acid to suitable regulatory sequences to generate an expression vector.

A vector refers to a nucleic acid molecule capable of transporting another nucleic acid to which it has been linked. The vector can be capable of autonomous replication or integrate into a host DNA. Examples of the vector include a plasmid, cosmid, or viral vector. The vector of this invention includes a nucleic acid in a form suitable for expression of the nucleic acid in a host cell. Preferably the vector includes one or more regulatory sequences operatively linked to the nucleic acid sequence to be expressed. A “regulatory sequence” includes promoters, enhancers, and other expression control elements (e.g., polyadenylation signals). Regulatory sequences include those that direct constitutive expression of a nucleotide sequence, as well as tissue-specific regulatory and/or inducible sequences. The design of the expression vector can depend on such factors as the choice of the host cell to be transformed, the level of expression of protein desired, and the like.

The expression vector can be introduced into host cells to produce a fusion protein of this invention. Also within the scope of this invention is a host cell that contains the above-described nucleic acid. Examples include E. Coli cells, insect cells (e.g., using baculovirus expression vectors), yeast cells, plant cells, or mammalian cells. See e.g., Goeddel, (1990) Gene Expression Technology: Methods in Enzymology 185, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. To produce a fusion protein of this invention, one can culture a host cell in a medium under conditions permitting expression of the protein encoded by a nucleic acid of this invention, and isolate the protein from the cultured cell or the medium of the cell. Preferably, the host cell is cultured in the absence of a wild type polyhedrin to produce the fusion protein that is contained in an occlusion body. The presence of the fusion protein in an occlusion body allows one to prepare he protein from the host cell by simply separating the occlusion body from the host cell. Alternatively, the nucleic acid of this invention can be transcribed and translated in vitro, for example, using T7 promoter regulatory sequences and T7 polymerase.

The above-mentioned vector can be also used to make a recombinant virus, e.g., a recombinant baculovirus, as described below in Examples 2 and 4. The virus contains the nucleic acid encoding the fusion protein of this invention and can therefore be used to infect suitable host cells to express the fusion protein, thereby including a fused foreign polypeptide in an occlusion body.

Also within the scope of this invention is a recombinant occlusion body that contains the above-described fusion protein. This occlusion body can be free of a wild type polyhedrin of a virus. Preferably, it is also free of a particle of the virus, such as a CPV virion. In one embodiment, the polyhedrin sequence contains SEQ ID NO: 2. To prepare such a recombinant occlusion body, one can introduce the above-described recombinant virus into a host cell and culture the host cell to produce occlusion bodies.

This invention also features a composition containing the above-described recombinant occlusion body and a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier. One can use this composition to produce antibodies in a subject that recognize the foreign polypeptide.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and from the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to a novel baculovirus expression system and a method for efficient isolation of engineered protein. The system is based, at least in part, on a fusion protein containing a viral polyhedrin sequence and a foreign polypeptide sequences. The fusion protein can form occlusion bodies in a host cell in the absence of a wild type polyhedrin, and be easily isolated from the cell.

The above-mentioned viral polyhedrin sequence can be that of any virus that form occlusion bodies in host cells (e.g., baculovirus, CPV, and spheroidin of the entomopox virus) or its functional equivalents. A “functional equivalent” refers to a polypeptide derived from a viral polyhedrin, e.g., fusion proteins or proteins having one or more point mutations, insertions, deletions, truncations, or combination thereof. It retains substantially the activity of the polyhedrin, i.e., the ability to form occlusion bodies in host cells. An exemplary polyhedrin contains SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, or its fragment. The polyhedrin should be long enough, e.g., at least 70, 80, 100, 150, or 200, amino acids in length so as to be able to form occlusion bodies.

The foreign protein sequence can be that of any polypeptide of interest. For example, it can be a therapeutic polypeptide, such as a vaccine, an antibody chain, a biologically active peptide, a cytokine or its receptors, a growth factor or its receptor, and an enzyme. One can obtain nucleotide sequences encoding these polypeptides from various public databases, e.g., GenBank and the Kabat database (Ramirez-Benitez Mdel et al., Biosystems. 2001 61:125-31).

Once obtained, a foreign nucleotide sequence can be fused to that encoding a viral polyhedrin by standard recombinant technology. Preferably, the foreign nucleotide is fused in frame to the 3′ end of the sequence encoding the viral polyhedrin to make a fusion gene. After making a fusion gene, one can operatively link it into an expression vector, which includes one or more regulatory sequences such as promoters. The baculovirus polyhedrin promoter is the most frequently used promoter for foreign gene expression.

To produce the above-described fusion protein in host cells, one can use standard baculovirus expression technology. See, e.g., Pfeifer et al., 1997, Gene 188:183-190; and Clem et al., 1994, J. Virol. 68:6759-6762. Suitable host cells may vary depending on the designs of systems or consideration of specificity. Examples of suitable host cells include, but are not limited to, the cells derived from species ranging from insects to vertebrates. Preferred host cells are insect-derived cells and mammalian cells. Examples of the insect-derived cells include Sf21, cells, Kc cells, and C6/36 cells. Upon expression, a plurality of the fusion proteins form recombinant occlusion bodies (i.e., occlusion body-like particles) in host cells.

It is known that at the very late stage of baculovirus infection, abundant polyhedrin proteins are produced and form occlusion bodies in the nucleus, a visible marker of baculovirus infection (Katsuma et al., 2000, Virus Genes 21, 233-240; Vialard et al., 1995, Introduction to the molecular biology of baculoviruses. Methods in Molecular biology. In Baculovirus Expression Protocols, Edited by C. D. Richardson. Totowa, N.J. Humana Press Inc.). A recombinant occlusion body of this invention is formed without co-infection of wild type baculovirus or the presence of wild type baculovirus polyhedrin. Besides baculovirus polyhedrin, other viral polyhedrin, e.g., CVP polyhedrin, can also occlude foreign protein into recombinant occlusion bodies in the absence any wild type polyhedrin. This is unexpected as Je et al., 2003, Biotechniques 34, 81-87 has reported that occlusion of foreign protein requires coexpression of wild type native polyhedrin. Such co-expression has several disadvantages as compared to the present invention. First, providing wild type polyhedrin requires extra work and increases difficulty for cloning. Second, wild type polyhedrin significantly dilutes the concentration of foreign protein. Third, in order to provide two sets of proteins, i.e. wild type polyhedrin and foreign protein, dual promoters or different viruses are needed. Because of the differences in promoter strengths and competition of two closely adjacent promoters, it is difficult to control the quality of the engineered foreign protein and the ratio of the wild type polyhedrin to the foreign protein. For these reasons, the expression described therein is superior to the co-expression system.

Like wild-type occlusion bodies, recombinant occlusion bodies of this invention can have sizes ranging from 0.5 to 15 um in diameter, with the predominant sizes ranging around 1.5 to 2.0 um in diameter (Adams et al., 1991, Chapter 6. Baculoviridae. Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses. In Atlas of Invertebrate viruses, pp. 87-226. Edited by J. R. a. B. Adams. Boca Raton, Ann Arbor, Boston, and London: J. R. CRC Press.). Their shapes are slightly heterogenous: they may be cuboidal, tetrahedral, dodecahedral, or irregular. They retain in host cells long after cell lysis and do not disperse until a fully degradation of the cells. Accordingly, any engineered non-secretory proteins stay in the cells until a final complete cell lysis, thereby avoiding protein loss often seen in conventional protein expression systems.

The just-described recombinant occlusion bodies are water insoluble and readily to precipitate from a solution. Thus they are easy to purify. As described in Example 1 below, one can purify them from host cells simply by low speed centrifugation. Purified occlusion bodies can be further dissolved under a weak alkaline condition (O'Really et al., 1994, Baculovirus Expression Vectors: A Laboratory Manual. New York: Oxford University Press) to release engineered proteins. The engineered proteins can be further treated by various art-recognized methods, e.g., by enzymatic digestion, to remove the fusion partner and to obtain the recombinant foreign polypeptide.

The recombinant occlusion body-based expression system has a number of advantages over conventional baculovirus systems. First, the yield of engineered protein is high. Second, there is no loss of the engineered protein. Third, the fusion proteins form occlusion bodies that hold the proteins tightly through out the entire cell culture time. Thus, the timing for protein harvesting is not critical and it is easy to purify the engineered protein. As mentioned above, CPV polyhedrins also occlude fused foreign proteins into recombinant occlusion bodies. The use of CPV polyhedrin has its advantages. For example, fusion proteins are brought to the cytoplasmic region, instead of the nucleic region. As a result, the recombinant occlusion bodies are free of entangling cellular DNA upon purification. Furthermore, baculovirus virions are generated in the nucleic region. Thus, the CPV polyhedrin-containing recombinant occlusion bodies are free of baculovirus virions, thereby avoiding contamination.

This system combines the advantages of column-free, timesaving, and high-yields for protein harvesting. Accordingly, it is an excellent tool for expressing and preparing soluble, insoluble, low-level, toxic, or hard-to-purified foreign proteins.

In addition, the structure and function of foreign proteins, e.g., GFP and FMDV VP1, can be maintained in the aggregated crystal-like recombinant occlusion bodies. See the Examples below. In particular, the proteins maintain their antigenicity and can be well recognized by the immune system of animals even buried in the occlusion bodies. Accordingly, the occlusion body can be administered to animals (e.g., mice, rats, rabbits, goats, sheep, horses, and humans) to produce antibodies that recognize the foreign protein.

Thus, within the scope of this invention is an immunogneic or antigenic composition that contains a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and an effective amount of a recombinant occlusion body of this invention. The carriers used in the composition are selected on the basis of the mode and route of administration, and standard pharmaceutical practice. Suitable pharmaceutical carriers and diluents, as well as pharmaceutical necessities for their use, are described in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. An adjuvant, e.g., a cholera toxin, Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), liposome, or immune-stimulating complex (ISCOM), can also be included in the composition, if necessary. Various adjuvants that can be used to increase the immunological response depend on the host species and include Freund's adjuvant (complete and incomplete), mineral gels such as aluminum hydroxide, surface-active substances such as lysolecithin, pluronic polyols, polyanions, peptides, oil emulsions, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, and dinitrophenol. Useful human adjuvants include BCG (bacille Calmette-Guerin) and Corynebacterium parvum.

The amount of a composition administered will depend, for example, on the particular peptide antigen in the foreign polypeptide, whether an adjuvant is co-administered with the antigen, the type of adjuvant co-administered, the mode and frequency of administration, and the desired effect (e.g., protection or treatment), as can be determined by one skilled in the art. In general, the recombinant occlusion body is administered in amounts ranging between 1 μg and 100 mg per adult human dose. If adjuvants are co-administered, amounts ranging between 1 μg and 1 mg per adult human dose can generally be used. Administration is repeated as necessary, as can be determined by one skilled in the art. For example, a priming dose can be given to a subject followed by three booster doses at weekly intervals. A booster shot can be given at 8 to 12 weeks after the first administration, and a second booster can be given at 16 to 20 weeks, using the same formulation. Sera can be taken from the subject for testing the immune response or antibody production elicited by the composition against the foreign polypeptide or polyhedrin. Methods of assaying antibodies against a specific antigen are well known in the art. Additional boosters can be given as needed. By varying the amount of recombinant occlusion body and frequency of administration, the protocol can be optimized for eliciting a maximal production of the antibodies.

The examples below are to be construed as merely illustrative, and not limitative of the remainder of the disclosure in any way whatsoever. Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can, based on the description herein, utilize the present invention to its fullest extent. All publications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

EXAMPLE 1

In this example, baculovirus polyhedrin was used to bring foreign proteins into occlusion body-like particles for easy purification.

Oligonucleotides 5′-TCCCCGGGATCTGATCATGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 9) and 5′-CGCAGATCTAGT-GAACAGAGGTGC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 10) were used to amplify a region between nucleotide (nt) 4,520 to 5,257 of the AcMNPV genome (Ayres et al., 1994, Virology 202, 586-605, GenBank Accession No: NC_(—)001623.). This region contains the polyhedrin promoter and gene. The oligonucleotides were designed to contain a SmaI site and a BglII site (both underlined). After PCR amplification, an 837-bp product was obtained, subjected to SmaI and BglII double digestion, and cloned into the EcoRV and BglII sites of pBacPAK8 (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.) to generate a transfer vector pBacPOL. The insertion was then confirmed by DNA sequencing. Subsequently, a 0.73-kb BamHI-EcoRI fragment containing the hrGFP gene was excised from the phrGFP-1 plasmid (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) and inserted between the BglII and EcoRI sites of pBacPOL to generate a 7.0-kb transfer vector pABpPHG. In this vector, the hrGFP gene was fused down-stream to the polyhedrin gene. This transfer vector was used to construct a recombinant virus vABpPHG for expressing a polyhedrin-hrGFP (PHG) fusion protein under the control of the very late polyhedrin promoter.

Two other oligonucleotides, 5′-AAAGATCTACCACCTCTGCGGGTG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 11) (BglII site underlined) and 5′-GGAATTCAGAAGCTATTTTGCGGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 12) (EcoRI site underlined), were used to amplify the vp1 gene from nt 2,840 to 3,478 of the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV type O Taiwan) genome (GenBank Accession No. AF026168). The amplified 653-bp vp1 gene fragment was digested with BglII and EcoRI and then inserted into the BglII/EcoRI sites of pBacPOL to generate a 6.9-kb transfer vector pABpPVP1.

Both pABpPHG and pABpPVP1 were verified by DNA sequencing to confirm that the hrGFP gene and FMDV vp1 gene were precisely fused in frame to the C-terminus of polyhedrin gene. They were then used to infect host cells.

The transfer plasmids were co-transfected into 2×10⁵ podoptera frugiperda IPLB-Sf21 (Sf21) cells on a 24-well plate at 26° C. with the linear viral DNA BaculoGold™ (PharMingen, San Diego, Calif.). Briefly, cells in each well were incubated with a transfection mixture containing 1.5 μg of DNA, 2 μl of Lipofectin® (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) and 200 μl of serum-free TNM-FH medium following the protocol provided by manufacturer. After 8-14 hours of incubation, the transfection mixture was replaced by 300-μl of TNM-FH medium containing 8% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and cultured for 3-5 days. The recombinant viruses were isolated by the formation of occlusion body-like structures using end point dilution method (O'Reilly et al., 1994 Baculovirus Expression Vectors: A Laboratory Manual. New York: Oxford University Press). These recombinant viruses, as well as wild-type AcMNPV were propagated also using SF21 cells according to standard techniques.

The recombinant viruses were then used to infect SF21 cells. More specifically, the cells (2×10⁷) were incubated with the above-described recombinant viruses at a MOI of 5 while being gently rocked for 1 hour. At different times after infection, the cells were examined by fluorescence microscope (IX70, Olympus) under a ×20 objective lens. Upon excitation by 470/520 nm, the green fluorescence emitted at 505/530 nm was recorded by a digital camera system (DP50, Olympus). A confocal fluorescence microscope (LSM 510, Zeiss) was used for both higher magnification observation and optical section (in 0.2 μm depth) to study recombinant occlusion bodies.

It was found that green fluorescence was detectable at 2 dpi in the Sf21 cells infected with vABpPHG. At the same time, condensed green fluorescence spots began to be observable inside the nucleus. At 3 dpi, the number and the intensity of green fluorescent spots greatly increased. At 4 dpi, the recombinant occlusion bodies became more evident in both bright and fluorescence fields. This result suggests that vABpPHG alone could produce occlusion body-like structure without the co-infection of wild type virus. These recombinant occlusion bodies formed by the fusing protein PHG were slightly smaller than those formed by wild type polyhedrin.

It was also found that in Sf21 cells co-infected with vABpPHG and wild type virus AcMNPV, the size of recombinant occlusion bodies varied from cells to cells, and even crystals to crystals. Some of the recombinant occlusion bodies were larger than those generated by PHG along, suggesting that wild-type polyhedrin may participate in the formation of these recombinant occlusion bodies by PHG.

The above-described pABpPVP1 transfer plasmid was also infected into Sf21 cells to generate corresponding recombinant viruses. These viruses were then used to infect SF21 cells to produce fusion proteins of polyhedrin and FMDV VP1 protein (PVP1). The fusion protein was studied in the same manner described above to test whether it incorporated into the recombinant occlusion bodies. It was found that vABpPVP1 alone produced recombinant occlusion bodies in the absence of wild type virus. The recombinant occlusion bodies were observed in the infected cells and the sizes of these particles were about the same as that formed by PHG.

Since the PHG or PVP1 protein aggregated in recombinant occlusion bodies, high percentage recovery should be easily achieved. The expression levels of PHG were then determined by a time-course experiment. Briefly, 3×10⁵ Sf21 cells were seeded in each well of a 6-wells plate and infected with vABpPHG at an MOI of 1. The cells were harvested at 3, 4, and 5 dpi and followed by PBS washing. The cell pellets were lysed and subjected to a SDS-PAGE analysis. It was found that a major band at 56 kDa matching the predicted molecular weight of PHG, and that PHG expression reached the highest level around 4 dpi.

The recombinant occlusion bodies generated in Sf21 cells infected by vABpPHG or AcMNPV were purified. More specifically, at 4 dpi, the infected cells were harvested by centrifugation at 2,000×g for 5 minutes at room temperature and then resuspended in 5 ml of 0.5% SDS-0.5 M NaCl to a concentration of 10⁸ cells/5 ml. The resuspension was gently shaken for 20 minutes at room temperature before being centrifuged at 5,000×g for 10 minutes. The pellets were resuspended in 1 ml of phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH7.8) at 4° C. and then transferred to a fresh microcentrifuge tube. The majority of the pellet was recombinant occlusion bodies, which were confirmed by microscope at relatively a low magnification.

The purified recombinant occlusion bodies were then examined by confocal microscopy. It was found that PHG formed irregular recombinant occlusion bodies with sizes about 1.5 to 2.0 μm in diameter. The recombinant occlusion bodies were examined by optical section to confirm that PHG formed and incorporated into the recombinant occlusion bodies, rather than attached to the surface. Continuous sections showed that the green fluorescence was evenly distributed throughout the entire recombinant occlusion body. This result indicates that PHG was embedded in the recombinant occlusion bodies.

The purified recombinant occlusion bodies were also subjected to a SDS-PAGE/Coomassie brilliant blue staining. The results showed major protein products of 56, 29, and 57 kDa corresponding to PHG, AcMNPV polyhedrin, and PVP1 proteins, respectively. More importantly, it was shown that more than 95% purity of PVP1 or PHG could be achieved.

Gross protein yields from the infected cells and from recombinant occlusion bodies were then studied using recombinant virus vABpPVP1. The gross yield of PVP1 from total cell lysate was found to be 405 μg/ml. From purified recombinant occlusion bodies, a yield of 233 μg/ml was achieved. This is a 58% recovery from original 405 μg/ml of PVP1 fusion protein. To achieve an even higher purity for raising antibodies, the recombinant occlusion bodies were further purified through a 40% (w/w) sucrose cushion by a centrifugation of 100,000 g for 30 minutes.

EXAMPLE 2

In Example 1 above, it was shown that PHG emitted strong green fluorescence, suggesting that the fusion protein retained its structure and function in recombinant occlusion bodies. In this example, the above-described PHG and PVP1 fusion proteins were used to generate anti-sera that specifically recognize polyhedrin, PHG, and PVP1 in a group of mice.

More specifically, each mouse was immunized with 50 μg antigen mixed with Freund's complete adjuvant (Sigma, Saint Louis, Mo.) per injection per week for 3 weeks. Antigens used included PHG, PVP1, PHG-containing purified occlusion bodies, PVP1-containing purified occlusion bodies, and polyhedrin-only-containing purified occlusion bodies. Anti-PHG, anti-PVP1, and anti-polyhedrin antisera were then produced by standard techniques.

Immunoblot was conducted to exam the fusion proteins. Briefly, Sf21 cells mocked-infected and infected with vABpPHG, vABpPVP1, and wild type AcMNPV were prepared and harvested at 4 dpi in the manner described above. Total cellular lysates and purified proteins were subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE and transferred to membranes for Western analysis. The membranes were then blotted respectively by mouse anti-PHG, anti-PVP1, and anti-polyhedrin antisera, as well as anti-hrGFP antibodies. After washing by 1×PBS containing 0.1% triton X-100, blotted membranes were incubated with goat anti-mouse IgG HRP-conjugated secondary antibody for 1 hour and then visualized by the ECL detection system (Perkin-Elmer, Wellesley, Mass.).

It was found that PHG could be recognized by anti-hrGFP antibodies, as well as sera raised against polyhedrin, PHG, and PVP1. All fusion proteins (PVP1 and PHG) and polyhedrin were recognized by the antibody raised against polyhedrin.

Since the anti-PHG antiserum was induced by the fusion protein containing both hrGFP and polyhedrin, the raised antibodies should recognize both proteins. Indeed, it was found that antiserum raised against PHG recognized both polyhedrin and PHG. To confirm this deduction, the antiserum was 1,500× diluted and incubated with 5-μg purified AcMNPV polyhedra in a 3 ml solution at 37° C. for 2 hours to deplete anti-polyhedrin antibodies. The antiserum thus-depleted was used in immunoblot analysis in the same manner described above. It was found that the intensity of signal corresponding to polyhedrin reduced drastically. In contrast, the signal of PHG remained. This result indicates that undepleted antiserum contains antibodies against both proteins and that depleted antiserum contains antibodies against GFP. It also suggests that a protein fused to the polyhedrin retains its antigenicity after being incorporated into recombinant occlusion bodies.

EXAMPLE 3

In this example, early leakage of engineered proteins in cells infected by baculovirus was examined. Briefly, SF21 cells were infected with vABpPHG and vAbhRpX in the manner described above. Upon infection with vABpPHG and vAbhRpX, the cells expressed fused GFP and red fluorescence protein DsRed, respectively. It is known that the fused GFP stays in a cell even after cell lysis and that, on the contrary, DsRed is cytosolic-localized and leaks out upon cell lysis.

It was found that the hrGFP was brought to the nucleus of the host cells by the polyhedrin fusion partner and stayed there even after the cells were totally lysed at 7 dpi. The DsRed, not capable of forming recombinant occlusion bodies, was found in the cytosol before cell lysis (3 dpi). Afterwards, DsRed began to leak out from some cells. More significant leakage of the DsRed was observed at 4 and 5 dpi, a stage most frequently used for harvesting engineered protein. At 7 dpi, all DsRed leaked out of the cells. In contrast, the fused hrGFP stayed in the cell long after all infected cells lyzed (7 dpi) without detectable loss. These results suggest that the polyhedrin fusion partner retains an engineered protein in host cells, and allows one to purify it at a high recovery rate at all stages after viral infection.

EXAMPLE 4

In this example, cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV) polyhedrin was used to carry foreign proteins into the recombinant occlusion bodies for easy purification. CPV, a reovirus, has a RNA genome and forms occlusion bodies in the cytoplasmic region.

A pag promoter was PCR synthesized using primer pairs: Forward 5′-ATAGATATC-TACTCATCGACCAATGGCGTCGCTCGGTTCTTATCGCAACAGAGTGGGGGCCATCCG CACTATAAAAAGCCGAGAC (SEQ ID NO: 13) and Reverse5′-ATAGTCAACTGCCAAGCTTGGTATGAACACGACTCGAATCAGACTGATGGTGTTCGT CACCAGTCTCGGCTTTTTATAGTGCGG (SEQ ID NO: 14) (Chao et al., 1998 J. Virol. 72, 2233-2245.). The two primers contained EcoRV and HindIII restriction sites (underlined). A DsRed2 coding region was amplified from pDsRed2 (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.) using primers 5′-ATAGTTGACGGTCGCCACCATGGCC (SEQ ID NO: 15) and 5′-ATAGTCAACGATATCTACAGGAACAGGTGGTGG (SEQ ID NO: 16) (EcoRV and HindIII restriction sites underlined). The two fragments were ligated at the HindIII sites and then inserted into pBacPAK8 at EcoRV site opposite to the transcriptional direction of polyhedrin promoter. The resulted plasmid was named pABpagR2pX.

To generate hrGFP- or EGFP-fusion proteins under the control of polyhedrin promoter, the full-length polyhedrin gene of Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCP) was synthesized according to the sequence of NCBI GI 332496 from 42 to 788 (Arella et al., 1998, J. Virol. 62, 211-217). Restriction sites XhoI and EcoRI sites were added immediately before the translation start codon and after the stop codon, respectively to facilitate inserting the polyhedrin gene into the multiple cloning sites of pABpagR2pX down streaming the polyhedrin promoter of AcMNPV. The result plasmid was named pABpagR2pBmCP. Then the hrGFP-coding region was PCR amplified by 5′-GCGGATCCACCATGGTGAGCAAGCAGA (SEQ ID NO: 17) and 5′-AATCTCGAGCACCCACTCGTGCAGGCT (SEQ ID NO: 18) from phrGFP-1, in which the later primer replaced the stop codon to XhoI site. Similarly, the EGFP coding region was PCR amplified by 5′-TAGGATCCGCCACCATGGTGAGCAA (SEQ ID NO: 19) and 5′-AATCTCGAGCTTGTACAGCTCGTCCAT (SEQ ID NO: 20) from pEGFP-C1 (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.) and the stop coden was substituted by XhoI site. The amplified fragments were enzyme digested and inserted into the pABpagR2pBmCP vector at BamHI and XhoI site to obtain pABpagR2pHRCP and pABpagR2 pEGCP, respectively.

The vectors described above were transfected into Sf21 cells to generate recombinant viruses by standard techniques. Cells infected with the recombinant viruses were studied in the manner described above. It was found that the cells contained distinct recombinant occlusion bodies. Confocal optical section study further confirmed that these particles were located in the cytoplasmic region of the cells. Since baculovirus virions are only produced in the nucleus, this result suggests that these recombinant occlusion bodies do not include any virions.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Each feature disclosed in this specification may be replaced by an alternative feature serving the same, equivalent, or similar purpose. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

From the above description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the present invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. Thus, other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A fusion protein comprising a polyhedrin sequence of a virus, the polyhedrin sequence being SEQ ID NO: 2 and a foreign polypeptide sequence, wherein a plurality of the fusion proteins, in the absence of a wild type polyhedrin of a virus, form occlusion bodies in a host cell. 